Wreck the Halls

Brewery: Full Sail Brewing Co.

Style: IPA, Winter Warmer

Series: Brewmaster Reserve Series

• ABV: 6.5%

  Size: 22 oz bottle

  Website: http://www.fullsailbrewing.com

The Holiday season is here, evidenced by the lit-up tree in my living room, the boat parade tooting along the Petaluma River, and Jennifer’s stockpile of toy donations preventing me from accessing my turntable and bookshelves T through Z. Christmas chaos… not to mention carols, shopping, and panic… will soon be unavoidable.

So tonight, in honor of the impending Saturnalian madness, I’m knocking back a Full Sail Wreck the Halls, a “sublime hybrid of an American IPA and a winter warmer.”

Wreck the Halls pours a ruddy amber with a full finger head with nice retention and a habit of marking the glass with sticky spiderwebs of lacing. Skunky, funky, grassy hop nose, pine and malt sugar, bitter lemon, and orange zest. Citrus on the tongue: Christmas orange, grapefruit, and a touch of peach on top of sweet caramel and malt and bitter piney hops. Thin mouthfeel, but very drinkable. Light carbonation. Long-lasting dry, bitter finish with suggestions of cinnamon and coriander. Gets right what last night’s Adult Beverage got wrong.